NZs and G.P

It has been an up and down few weeks for the Joblin Motorsport Team. After the high of placing 3rd in the Teams Champs, things didn't quite go to plan at both the New Zealand Superstock Champs in Kihikihi and the New Zealand Grand Prix in Palmerston North.


New Zealand Superstock Championships - Kihikhi Speedway

Scott continued his good form in qualifying. It was pretty much a trouble free run for the 52p Hotter Engineering car, as he blitz the field to convincingly top his group. Simon on the other hand had stroke of luck. After a win and a 4th placing in his first two heats, all the 72p Fletcher Easysteel car had to do was pretty much finish the final heat. But unfortunately it wasn't to be. A faulty crank trigger sensor resulted in a DNS for Simon, and he originally just missed out on qualifying by finishing 7th in his group. But as luck would have it, 87r Pat Westbury pulled out from the finals due to a broken rear axle, and as the 72p car was the next highest qualifier in the group, he was able to take his place in the final 26 car finals field.

Expectations were high for both Joblin Motorsport cars in the finals, but they were soon dashed after the opening laps in heat 1. Scott took some heavy hits early on, almost rolling down the back straight, while Simon was spun in turn 3. A flat left rear tyre left the 52p machine crawling the poleline for the remainder of the race, while the 72p car also suffered the same fate with a flat right front. Simon was able to circulate at a reasonable pace before a hard hit into the turn 3 wall saw him pull off with engine concerns. Scott was able to finish the race, but along way off the pace in 21st position.

Both cars were quickly repaired for heat 2, which went a lot smoother for both cars. Scott started from grid 7 and soon pushed his way to the front in the opening laps. Simon started from grid 3, but got pushed wide in the opening corner, slipping back to 6th. A tight battle between the 72p car and 7n Craig Boote eventuated for the 5th and 6th spot, with "The Boss" edging ahead as the crossed the finish line. The 52p Hotter Engineering car had pulled out a massive lead, and went on the win heat 2 comfortably.

With a number of Palmerston North cars sitting high up on points, both the 52p and 72p cars were out to mix things up for the final heat. Scott still had a slight chance of a podium finish, but he would need to win the race and rely on a number of cars to DNF. The 52p car got away to another great start from grid 13, but was spun in turn 2. Simon was again forced wide off the start and immediately went into attack mode, with his main target being the 3nz car of Brendan Higgins. The 72p car slipped down the inside of 3nz heading into turn 3, pushing him wide into the wall. Higgins was momentarily able to break free, forcing Simon the the inside of the track, right into the path of 10p Peter Rees. The rear end of Rees clipped the front of the 72p car, turning him sideways and into a roll. Some might say it was justice, some might say it was karma. Some might even say it was just wrong place at the wrong time for Rees. But at the end of the day, all it did was lower the chances of a Palmerston North victory.

It wasn't quite the result the Joblin Motorsport team were after, although Scott did manage to bring the 52p Hotter Engineering car home in 4th=. Simon however, finished well down in 21st position. Congratulations to the new 1nz Brendan Higgins, 2nz Beven Humphries and 3nz Murray Long.



New Zealand Superstock Grand Prix - Palmerston North International Speedway

Yet again Scott put in a powerful qualifying display, convincingly winning his group by a massive 10 points. With a 2nd, 1st and a 3rd, the 52p Hotter Engineering was safely through to the finals. The bad luck continued for the 72p Fletcher Easysteel car however. Simon looked an absolute certainty to qualify, before a faulty computer caused the car to die as he left his pit bay. The DNS in the final heat left the 72p car a mear 1 point short of qualifying. His 1st and 8th in heats 1 and 2 weren't quite enough, but put him on pole for the repercharge on night two.

After the team had replaced the faulty computer, the 72p Fletcher Easysteel car had a trouble-free run in the repercharge on night two. Simon lead from start to finish to secure a finals spot in the top 30.

Scott started from grid 2 for the first heat, while Simon was back a little further on grid 8. Both cars got away cleanly from the start, with the 52p car jumping straight into the lead. Simon had an excellent start and moved into the top 5 after the opening lap. It was a pretty straight forward run home for the 52p car, who led the whole way to claim the maximum 30 points. Simon continued to make passes throughout the race, and was able to bring the 72p Fletcher Easysteel car across the line in 3rd place.

It all went pear-shaped for both Joblin Motorsport cars in heat two. Scott was spun early on in the race by a hard charging Malcom Ngatai, and dropped right to the back of the field. Although the 52p car was able to close the distance on the leaders, Scott finished well back in 18th place. The 72p car made a strong start from grid 23, and was soon battling it out inside the top 10, before a flat right rear tyre ended his chances. Simon continued to circulate, finishing well down in the 20th spot.

There wasn't a lot on offer for the final heat, with a slick track making it very difficult to pass. Simon started from grid 16 and again found himself in the top 10 after the opening laps. He was having an excellent battle with 92r Kyle Fraser before the two locked wheels heading onto the start/finish straight. Both cars were sent flying onto the infield. Although they were able to free themselves, both 72p and 92r had lost a number of valuable positions. Simon was able to finish the race just outside the top 10 in 11th place. The night just got worse for Scott, who was again spun early, before being collected in the rear end, which in turn jammed the wheel guard hard against the the left rear wheel. The 52p Hotter Engineering car pulled to the infield for his 1st DNF in along while.

It was another disappointing weekend result-wise. The final points table showed the 72p car in 7th, while the 52p car was well down in 18th position.
After a week off, the crew is this week making the trip south to Christchurch's Woodford Glen Speedway, to contest in the annual "Battle of the Stocks" Invitational. We look forward to seeing all our faithful "Mainland" fans, and hope we can come away with some improved results.